The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported Tuesday the State Employees' Retirement System board voted 6-5 to return former Democratic State Sen. Robert Mellow's pension.

It's the only time in at least 11 years that the board has returned a pension that was taken away because of a criminal conviction, Philly.com reported.

Mellow lost the retirement benefit when he pleaded guilty in May 2012 to allegations that he used taxpayer-funded staff to work on political campaigns. After serving for 40 years, the Scranton-area legislator was entitled to $246,000 a year.